Ādamsons v. Latvia
Encyclopedia
Ādamsons v. Latvia was a case argued before the European Court of Human Rights
and decided in 2008.
.
In 1995, the law on legislative elections was adopted in Latvia, forbidding former KGB employees to stand for elections.
Therefore, Mr. Ādamsons, who was Latvian Mnister of Interior in 1994-1995, was prevented from standing for elections.
and Gyulumyan have filed a concurring opinion. Judge Fura-Sandström has filed a dissenting opinion.
Latvian government has appealed against the judgment, but the appeal was rejected.
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
and decided in 2008.
Facts
Mr. J. Ādamsons was a Soviet Border Guard. Border Guards were part of KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
.
In 1995, the law on legislative elections was adopted in Latvia, forbidding former KGB employees to stand for elections.
Therefore, Mr. Ādamsons, who was Latvian Mnister of Interior in 1994-1995, was prevented from standing for elections.
Judgment
The Court noted that Parliamentary Elections Act targeted former “officers” of the KGB. Having regard to the wide-ranging functions of KGB, the Court considered that that concept was too broad and that a restriction of the electoral rights of a KGB officer should take a case-by-case approach to take into account their actual conduct. The Court noted that the applicant had never been accused of having been involved in the misdeeds of the Soviet regime, such as repression of opposition. Therefore the Court has found a violation of the Article 3 of the 1st protocol of ECHR, by six votes against one. Judges Garlicki, ZupančičBoštjan Zupancic
Boštjan Zupančič is a Slovenian lawyer and a justice on the European Court of Human Rights.Zupančič has law degrees from the University of Ljubljana, University of Montreal and Harvard Law School.-References:*...
and Gyulumyan have filed a concurring opinion. Judge Fura-Sandström has filed a dissenting opinion.
Latvian government has appealed against the judgment, but the appeal was rejected.